All that I've Got
by XxXVincentValentineXxX
Summary: After the death of his mother, Cloud is forced to move schools and live with his father and half siblings. But after meeting the enigmatic Zack Fair, Cloud's life is never the same again
1. Chapter 1

**AN:/ Hey, so i know this is trash but fuck it, right? ive always wanted to write a high school au fic, mostly because, i like writing what i know.**

 **ps, this is also a kingdom hearts crossover, but i dont want to put it in the crossover catagory**

 **anyways, the title is from all that ive got by the used, because that song is fucking sick and im an emo piece of shit. this may be out of character but, hey i tried okay? - Rohanfxcker (tumblr)**

 **/**

"Beep beep beep!"

"Ugh, what are you doing?" Cloud peeked out of his warm cocoon-like duvet to look at the younger teen, who was currently beeping like he was an alarm clock.

"I was told to wake you up, we have to leave earlier for school, for administrative stuff apparently" Sora ran his fingers through his brown, spiky hair.

"I get that, but why're you beeping at me" Cloud climbed out of the bed, stretching his arms over his head and hearing the clicking and cracking of his bones.

"I thought it would be funny" he crossed his arms, leaned back against the doorframe.

Cloud rolled his eyes and stood up "Yeah? Well, its not. It's actually pretty dumb"

The brunette frowned "Jesus dude what's your damage?" 

"Nothing, leave me alone to get dressed" Cloud looked over to his brother-well, half brother technically, and his "damage" was that today, he'd be starting his first day at a new school, in a completely unfamiliar location. The reasoning for this was at the beginning of summer, his mother died unexpectedly. Before he was given the opportunity to grieve, he was whisked off to live with his father, stepmother and twin half brothers. When Cloud was a baby, his father left and went to start a family with some other was, very obviously, upset with the whole situation, even though he wasn't close to his mother, they mostly just cohabitated, but her death left him full of regrets.

"Okay but I thought it was funny" Roxas peeked his head round the doorway.

Cloud scowled "Both of you. Out. Now"

"Okay okay we're going" both boys left the room quickly.

Cloud glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

"6:30, ewww" Cloud sighed.

He got dressed into his uniform, throwing his long jacket over his shoulders, not bothering to put it on correctly. Walking into the hallway and down the stairs to retrieve his shoes, he overheard a conversation going on the kitchen.

"All he does is mope about" the disdain in his stepmother's voice was obvious.

He could hear his father sigh "Starting school will be good for him; he'll make some friends and wont bother us"

Cloud sighed, he knew he was imposing, that his father didn't want him here, he'd made himself a perfect little life here with his wife and his kids- his brothers, he reminded himself. Cloud didn't belong here, this wasn't his home, he was an intruder in the life of a perfect family.

He didn't stay to listen to more of their conversation, grabbing his boots and tip toeing up the stairs again.

The ride to school was uneventful, except for Sora's friends showing up for a ride as well. He remembered seeing them throughout the summer, they seemed nice enough, but, like Sora himself, they were very loud. Cloud didn't like loud, he wasn't shy or anything, but he just prefered people who spoke in an inside voice. He looked over to Roxas, who was sitting quietly in the front seat of the car. You weren't supposed to pick favourites with siblings, but if he did, Roxas would win the "Everything Cloud Could Want In A Sibling" contest. Not to say Cloud didn't like Sora, mind you. _I guess I'm kinda lucky when it comes to those two, coulda been worse._

The car pulled up outside the school and the six of them hopped out. Sora turned to Roxas and said "Hey, meet us at the lockers, we'll take Cloud to the pastoral leader's office, we need to talk to her about something anyway"

The girl, Kairi, smiled as she grabbed Roxas by the arm and pulled him off somewhere.

"C'mon, let's go!" Sora began walking, his other friend following. The corridors were empty, save for a few teachers and students wandering around. The place had a very eerie atmosphere this early in the morning; the sun had not fully risen and only a couple lights seemed to be turned on.

They eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, arrived at the office, a plaque on the door read "Lucrecia Crescent, Pastoral Leader". Riku, Sora's other friend, was the one who knocked, and quickly a woman opened the door and smiled.

"Oh, hello Riku, and Sora too! And who is this?" she looked over to Cloud, who was leaning against the wall behind them.

"This is Cloud Strife, Mrs Crescent he's-" Riku began.

"-My brother!" Sora ended, grabbing Cloud by the arm and dragging him over to stand next to the other boys.

"Ow, don't grip so hard" Cloud mumbled. He looked up at the woman, her eyes were very bright, the early onset of wrinkles donning her otherwise flawless face. Light brown hair framed her face, with some of it pulled up into a long high ponytail. If Cloud was to guess, she was in her early 40s, and by the lab coat she was wearing, she was also a science teacher of some kind. She moved back and gestured for the 3 boys to enter her office. It was very cramped, the desk taking up most of the room. Pictures lined the walls, either of students or teachers.

"Right right, so Riku and Sora, you are, I assume, here to speak about the changes in the timetables?"

"That's right! We were hoping you could-" Sora started.

"This can wait until later boys, I am very busy today, so can you both stop by again at lunch?"

Sora frowned "Uh, okay…" both boys stood up.

"This means we can go, yeah?" Riku asked.

"Yes, I have many things to go over with Mr. Strife here, I'll see you two later" She smiled as they left the office.

"Right let's get down to business, shall we? I am, as you probably know already, Ms Crescent. I am the pastoral leader for the upper year of the school, I also teach biology and physics" She stopped for a moment, reaching across the room to grab a stack of papers.

"Essentially" She continued. "Everything you need to know is in here, but I'll give you a run down of the basics. Behave appropriately, arrive to school and all your classes on time, if you fall ill and are unable to attend, a parent must call and inform of your absence, complete all your homework on time and keep your uniform in order. Any questions?" She exhaled.

Cloud shook his head. "No, not really…" Cloud mumbled, looking down at his feet.

"Good good, now wait here, I have arranged for 2 students to escort you around the grounds for the next couple of days- or, well as long as you feel you need them too. In fact-" She hurried to the door and swang it open, the two behind it jumped back.

"Cloud, this is Tifa and Aerith, they will be your guides, c'mon, introduce yourselves!" Ms Crescent waved her arms towards the girls.

"Ah, hello! I am Aerith, as you know" a short girl with long, curly brown hair announced excitedly. The other girl, Tifa he assumed, walked more into the office and held her hand out.

"Tifa, it's nice to meet you Cloud" Cloud grasped her hand carefully and shook it, as she pulled him out of his chair.

"We best head off to class, we are in most of your classes, and our first is, umm, History, right Tifa?" Aerith asked Tifa, as they exited the office.

"Yeah, we've got Mr Crescent this year I think" Tifa said, while in deep thought.

"Oh, Mr Crescent, great…" Aerith sighed.

"You don't like him?" Tifa asked her inquisitively.

Aerith looked down to her feet, fiddling with a loose strand of hair. "It's nothing, honestly…" she muttered.

Tifa shot her a skeptical look, but said nothing.

They approached their class, a few students lingered around outside the door, while some others had already entered the room and sat down. The desks had two seats at each, each with a wooden worktop and a hook on the side, probably for jackets or bags to hang from. Aerith went to her seat, which already had a student sitting at it, a scrawny ginger kid with some kind of anime mullet? Cloud wasn't sure what that was supposed to be, but he immediately started chatting to Aerith, who smiled and engaged in what seemed like a pretty shallow conversation.

Tifa gestured to an empty seat. "This is the only empty seat in this class, so it's pretty safe to say that this is where the teacher will seat you anyways".

"Oh, uh, thanks Tifa" Cloud walked over to the desk as Tifa sat in the seat behind him.

She leaned over him, tapping on his shoulder. "Psst, you don't talk much, do you".

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cloud asked bitterly.

"Just pointing out the fact…" She trailed off. "Say, why'd you come here anyway? I know you're the brother of those two young kids, so why weren't you here already if your family was here?"

Cloud stopped for a moment. He'd guessed that Ms Crescent had told both girls about his brothers, but he'd also assumed that along with that, she'd told them about his situation as well. _I won't go into too much detail, just tell her enough to shut her up_ Cloud thought rudely.

"I, um, well, my Mom died at the beginning of summer, and I had to move in with my Dad and half brothers" He stated, matter of factly.

"That sounds awful" it wasn't Tifa who said this, no, a new voice made its way to Clouds ears from behind him. He jumped and turned around to see a genuinely sad looking face behind him. The one wearing this face was a very tall tan teenager, his long dark hair spiked slightly.

"Ah-sorry, I'm Zack, and that's my seat there" He pointed to the empty seat next to Cloud.

Cloud quickly moved to move his bag from the chair next to him and hang it on the hook. Zack sat down, taking out his pencil case and set there, bouncing his leg as he looked at his phone. He wasn't wearing the correct pants for school, swapping the dress pains for a pair of acid washed jeans. Cloud could see that Zack was well built through his clothes.

"You're new here, right?" Zack asked.

"Duh, of course he is, dumbass…" Tifa exclaimed.

"You don't need to be so rude, you know!" Zack raised his voice, but there was no malice, just what seemed like banter between two friends.

The bell rang, students lingering around their desks and outside the classroom hurried to sit down as the teacher entered the room. He was tall, young too, with long silver-grey hair swishing behind him as he walked over to his desk at the front of the room.

"Good morning class, as some of you know, I am Mr Crescent" He turned around to write his name and the date on the board. Cloud thought for a second, /Mr Crescent? Like Ms Crescent? Maybe they're related/ he looked over to Zack. /He'll probably know/

"Hey, Zack, right?" Cloud nudged his shoulder.

"Yeah what's up?" He smiled at Cloud, making Cloud blush for reasons he couldn't understand.

"Uh, what's the deal with Ms Crescent and Mr Crescent over there? Are they related or somethin'?" Cloud shifted in his seat, keeping his voice low as to not be heard.

"Actually, he's her son" Zack whispered back to him.

"Is that so…" Less interesting than Cloud had hoped, he'd assumed they were married or something along those lines.

"Yeah, his dad is also a Teacher here, teaches Science like Ms Crescent does, most kids in our grade just call him Hojo though" Zack slipped his jacket off his shoulders, his sleeves were rolled up, revealing muscular arms. _He must work out, I'd love to watch -join him, Join Him, I really need to get fit_ Cloud blushed once again.

"Aerith, can you please hand out the textbooks" this wasn't a question, more a demand as he logged onto his computer.

"Yes sir" Aerith stood quickly, grabbing and handing out the books.

The class was loud and rowdy, the kid sitting next Aerith has turned around to talk to another student behind him, laughing and joking.

"Is it always like this" Cloud asked Zack, who was looking at pictures of "cute puppies" on his phone.

"Wha- Oh, you mean noisy?" Zack locked his phone and slipped it his pocket. "Mr Crescent has a firm attitude that if you're misbehaving, you obviously don't care and he won't waste time trying to teach you I guess. But to answer, no, not really actually, its just it's the first day back, so most kids are pretty rowdy".

Cloud looked towards the teacher, who was sipping his coffee in wait of Aerith to finish handing the books out.

Cloud could tell this was going to be a long year.


	2. Chapter 2

The class settled down after a few minutes, Mr Crescent beginning the class with general welcomes and a basic introduction of what is expected in his class. Cloud was surprised that after he finished talking and the class got to work, he went back to his desk, ignoring Cloud, despite him being a new student. Cloud thought nothing of it and instead continued with his work. It wasn't long before class was over, and kids began to rise from their seats. Cloud barely had time to gather his belongings to catch up with Tifa and Aerith, who were already heading towards the door.

"H-hey, wait!" Cloud called after them, trying to keep up.

"Shit, sorry!" Tifa stopped by the door and waited for cloud to catch them up.

"People are creatures of habit, so me and Tifa are used to just leaving straight away, I am very sorry" Aerith seemed genuine about her apology, and Tifa looked sorry too.

The morning passed uneventfully, Cloud took note of the actions of his fellow students. Aerith was sweet and mostly placid, but very strong willed. Tifa was, as it seemed, strong (Both physically and mentally) but sweet when she wanted to be.

It wasn't long before lunch rolled around and Cloud found himself sitting at a crowded table with a plate full of unsurprisingly unappetising food, which he was picking at slowly.

"..So, Yuffie, remind me of the plan again?" An orange haired student asked, munching on a piece of carrot.

Yuffie, a short, but energetic girl from another class, was seemingly planning celebrations for her birthday, a planning journal splayed out in front of her.

"Okay, so, you know how there's that club opening on _that_ side of town?" she emphasised.

Everyone nodded, most the the chattering amongst the large group died down by now. Cloud didn't really know what she meant exactly by that, but he could hazard a guess.

"Well Reno here," she continued, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "...Is going to get us in!".

Tifa looked unconvinced. "And just _how_ is he going to get us in?" she questioned.

"It's a secret" Yuffie whispered, winking at Reno, who playfully winked back at her.

Tifa wasn't the only skeptical one; most of the group held looks of disbelief.

It was Zack who spoke next. "You can really do that?" he looked at Reno, a hint of excitement creeping up his face.

Reno smirked. "I sure can~!" he leaned over the table to get closer to Zack, a singsong voice echoing through the group.

Cloud spoke up. "I'd love to know how you'd do that, be sure to tell me Tifa"

"What do you mean Cloud? You're coming too, right?" Yuffie looked at Cloud puzzledly.

"You've only known me for one day, and you want me to come celebrate your birthday with you?" Cloud asked.

Zack interrupted. "You seem cool Cloud. Of course you're invited!"

"Yeah! _I could've said that though Zack_ " she mumbled.

"Hmmmm?" Zackwas smiling cheekily.

"Anyways~~~ Cloud, it's this saturday,at 7pm" she turned to address the rest of the group, who'd been distracted by some dumb video on someones phone. "We'll meet at the train station near the club. You know how to get there Cloud?"

Cloud _did not know_ how to get to the train station in question, nor did he even know _which_ side of town it was on. But, before he could answer, another very familiar voice reverberated from behind him.

"He doesn't, but _we_ can take him there" Sora smiled cheerfully from behind him. Cloud had not noticed Sora and Roxas' friends had been sitting at the table behind them.

"Cloud? You know them?" Aerith, who had been suspiciously quiet spoke up.

"It's a long stor-" he began.

"We're brothers-well, half brothers technically" Roxas said from his place seated behind Sora.

"Thanks for announcing that to everyone" Cloud grumbled.

"What? Are you embarrassed of us?" Sora feigned disappointment.

Cloud furrowed his brows. "Yes, of course I am, you suck."

"We take offence to that!" Roxas chimed in, standing up and walking closer towards the table, Sora in tow.

"Whatever. You know how to get to the train station?" Cloud asked.

Sora smiled smugly. "Yeah we do, and we can take you there, _but_ " Sora's smile widened.

"You're only seventeen, and we could tell Mom and Dad." Roxas continued.

Cloud groaned. _Of course there'd be a catch_ he thought. "How much would it cost to buy you silence?" Cloud crossed his arms.

"Hmmmm" Sora looked towards Roxas, who moved closer to Cloud's table.

"$20, and you do our laundry" the small brunette chuckled.

Cloud muttered "You gotta be shitting me, guh- alright fine!"

"Yay!" the two boys chorused in unison.

"Will you go away now?" Cloud asked, looking around at the table, who all seemed _very_ engrossed in Cloud's conversation with his brothers.

"Nuh uh, we take payment up front" Sora grinned even wider, somehow.

Rolling his eyes, Cloud fished a 20 out of his wallet, handing it over to his persistent brothers, who ran off as soon as they pocketed the money.

Just as Cloud turned around to continue the conversation with his newly acquired friends, the lunch bell rang. He stood up and was about to join Tifa and Aerith in making their way to class, before Zack interrupted him.

"Do you want my email or phone number or something?" Zack slung his arm around Cloud's shoulder, pulling his small frame a little bit /too/ close for a casual exchange, but neither boys seemed to mind.

"Uh, sure I guess." Cloud felt awkward at the question.

"Oh, uh, it's only because you'll need someone's contact number, for Yuffie's birthday thing, ya know?" He stammered. _Bullshit, but okay_ Cloud was very tempted to say, but kept his mouth shut.

Zack noted Cloud's silence, quickly following up with "I can give you Yuffie's number too as well if you want" Zack pulled a small piece of paper out of his pocket, and scrawled his and Yuffie's contact info on it, before handing it to Cloud. It read:  
 **  
ME =** **ZACKTHELEDGENDARY00**

 **YUFFIE =** **THEIVINGNIGHTMARE .UK**

Followed by their phone numbers. Cloud chucked at Zack's email address.

"What? I was 13!" he shouted, feigning upset.

"Pfft, whatever _'Zack The Legendary'_ " Cloud laughed, properly for the first time in a long time.

"Cloud, c'mon, class is starting!" Tifa called out to him.

"Shit, sorry, I gotta go" Cloud had forgotten her and Aerith would be waiting for him. He waved his goodbyes to Zack and ran in the girl's direction to join them.


	3. Chapter 3

Cloud found a seat at the back of his last class of the day, trying his best to focus. However, he was feeling exhausted from the long day. He nearly dozed off at one point, though Tifa thankfully poked him before the teacher noticed. He barely even caught his name- Mr Wallace, though he seemed insistent the students should "Just call [him] Barret". Cloud watched as Barret handed out some textbooks.

"Oh boy, sex ed." Tifa's words dripped with sarcasm.

Aerith flicked through the book, stopping at a page with a crudely drawn phallus etched onto the forehead of a man in a picture on one of the pages. "It's kinda early to be doing this though".

Barret seemed to hear that, as he turned to face the class. "I know it's easly to be doing this, but it's because the head of year asked if this class could do sex ed early 'cause the transfer kid hasn't done it".

Tifa perked up at that, looking at Cloud with bemusement. "Really? You've never done it?"

"Nope, guess my school thought it wasn't important" Cloud responded.

"That's just weird, do you even know how, you know, /that stuff/-" Aerith started.

"Of course I do, I've got the internet, I've seen things" Cloud grinned in a cheeky fashion.

/

Cloud stood by the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for his step-mom to pick him up. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

/hey, the boys hv gone out and r walkin hm ltr, can u walk 2?/

Cloud wasn't 100% sure he knew his way around well enough to make it home, but he knew if he complained about walking, it would make his stepmom angry and he really didn't want to cause himself more problems. Still standing at the sidewalk, he felt a finger prod his shoulder.

"Hey" Zack was standing behind him, smiling a toothy grin. "Is there somethin' up?".

Cloud turned and looked up to Zack. "Ah, it's just, i need to walk home, but i'm not really sure how to get there.." he trailed off.

Zack leaned down to his height, giving him a look as if he was a small child. /bastard/

"You know the address? I could walk you"Zack stood up to full height again, walking over to a nearby wall and leaning against it.

"Yeah i've got the address, that'd be really help full" cloud pulled out his phone and went searching through old text messages, trying to find the message from his father containing his full home address, before showing it to Zack, who nodded and gripped onto Clouds arm, pulling him along.

"Well, c'mon, let's go!" Cloud nearly tripped over his feet trying to follow Zack's excited movement.

Zack led the way, while cloud lagged behind slightly. They walked in silence, Cloud assumed zack wasn't quite sure what to say. Zack finally broke the silence after a couple of minutes.

"How was your first day?" Zack smiled softly. Cloud was sure he could see /something/ in the way Zack looked at him, but thought nothing of it.

Cloud shoved his hands in his pockets, looking up to the sky. "Better than I expected if im honest".

"Is that a good 'better than expected' or a kinda shitty 'better than expected'?" The taller boy asked.

"Can't it be both?"

/

Once the pair arrived at Cloud's house, Zack put his hand on his shoulder, smiling a big lopsided grin.

"I'll see ya tomorrow?" He asked, retracting his hand after leaving it there just a little to long for comfort.

Cloud nodded, standing in the doorway, watching Zack walk away.

Turning around, he closed the door and made his way up the stairs into his bedroom. The room was sparsely decorated; only containing his bed, a dresser and his suitcase. Sitting on the bed, he reached into his satchel and pulled out his laptop, beginning some homework he'd been set.

/

/7:30? Crap, i fell asleep!/

Cloud realised he'd fallen asleep after he was awoken with a loud /bang bang bang/ on his bedroom door.

"What?" Cloud answered curtly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Dinner, c'mon" Roxas called, Cloud could hear his footsteps as he ran off downstairs.

Sitting up in his bed, he stretched, hearing his joints click and groan in protest as he shifted his body. After standing up, he walked over to the door and made his way to the dining room.

"Good evening, Cloud" his step-mother didn't look up when she addressed him, continuing to dig into her food. Speaking of, however, the food looked very, uh, questionable. Some kind of mushy vegetable concoction coated in a cheese (or something that looked like cheese anyway) sauce. Cloud begrudgingly sat down at the dining table, listening to the small talk of his brothers.

/

After dinner, Cloud's Step-mother "asked" (and by asked, he meant /forced/) Cloud to do the dishes, while the rest of the household dissipated. The food was less than barely edible, Cloud ate maybe two bites, before insisting that he wasn't hungry. He was sure it didn't convince the woman, but she didn't say anything about it.

After washing the dishes, he made his way back to his room. /time to check my email, i guess/ he was greeted with an email from Yuffie, giving the details of the upcoming Saturday.

/"Full info for everyone, becuz not everyon knows.

Meet at the trian station at 7, no need fr booze, just bring cash

reno has got us covered for the club ntry, so dw about that

xxxYuffie."/

Cloud sighed, through he didn't know Yuffie, he had a feeling this wasn't going to go well. It was then he noticed the other new email.

"Ah, it's from Zack." he whispered aloud.

/"Hey, you seem rlly cool, here's my phone number, just incase u wanna call or text or whtevr."/

Cloud quickly typed in the number in the email into his phone and sent a text.

/"Hey"/

Cloud put his phone down next to the bed, taking note of the time and deciding that he should try to sleep. Closing his eyes, he drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: if you follow this story on AO3,** youdve **noticed this story was A.) missing a chapter and B.) chapter 3 had no formatting. this is because** im **dumb and forgot about the story and was drunk when** i **posted chapter 3 originally**..

The next few days turned out uneventful, Cloud paid (Very little) attention in his classes, spending his lunchtimes hanging out at the overcrowded table and trying to have as little contact with his family as possible (he had nothing against his brothers really, but they were kids (as entertaining as watching Sora take a running start, slip and slide in his socks, and stack it into the bookshelf was)). He took to walking home everyday, and each of those days he was joined by Zack.

It was on the Friday when Zack suggested they deviate from the routine they started to build.

"I still need to get Yuffie a gift, you wanna head to the market?" he asked just as they left the school premises.

"Uh, yeah. I actually needed to get her a gift too" this was bullshit, Cloud was more of a 'money in card type guy', but part of him revelled in the thought of spending more time with Zack, which Cloud /tried/ to not think too deeply about.

Zack smiled a full, toothy grin and pulled on Cloud's am, dragging him in the opposite direction they were already headed. "Lets go, c'mon!"

"Aight aight I'm coming" Cloud laughed, a usually rare sound from him, but it seemed that he'd laughed a lot more this week than he'd done in years, and he had no doubt that it was especially because of a certain tall, spiky haired doofus (He'd hesitate to call him such, but he was a nice and kind hearted doofus)..

Zack led Cloud to a crowded market, the scent of greasy fried food, mingled with that of burning incense, wafted heavily into his face as soon as he entered the vicinity of the place. The two boys began their search.

"So," Cloud began, clearing his throat to get Zack's attention.

"Hm?" Zack hummed, picking up a (Really ugly) yellow dress from a rail.

"What does Yuffie like?" Cloud asked, taking the damn ugly dress from Zack's gasp and returning it to the rail.

Zack gingerly ran his fingers through his hair, thinking for a moment before answering, "I think she likes ninja stuff, maybe?"

"Really helpful Zack. Anyway, what about this?" Cloud held up a mug that said 'Birthday bitch'.

"More of a gift for Tifa I'd say" Zack laughed, continuing to look through the rack of clothes.

"Tifa? I think she'd kill me if I gave her that" Cloud returned the mug back to its space on the table.

Zack thought for a moment. "She's got a better sense of humour than you'd think dude, but for real you're right, she'd probably kill you"

The two browsed silently for a short while, Cloud managed to settle on a chain necklace with a large red glass orb hanging from it. Meanwhile, Zack seemed to've not made his mind up on anything.

"Say, uh, Cloud? What do you think of Tifa?" he asked out of the blue.

"She's alright I guess….why?" Cloud was confused.

Zack bit his lip and looked away, "Just alright? Not like, amazing or anything?" Zack dragged Cloud over to a bench and sat down.

Cloud eyed Zack suspiciously "What's this about?"

"I think Tifa's into you!" Zack grinned excitedly.

/Oh/ Cloud thought. It wasn't that he didn't like Tifa, not that at all, but…

"Hello? Earth to spike!" Cloud hadn't realised he'd zoned out until he heard Zack calling his name and waving his hand in front of his face.

"You...think she's into me, why?" Cloud asked confuedly.

Zack grinned, slinking an arm around Cloud's shoulders. "Duh! Haven't you seen the way she looks at you? She tottally /wants you/" The empasis on the last part made Cloud cringe slightly.

"...I haven't noticed any looks from her" Cloud muttered, looking to the floor.

Zack seemed to notice Cloud's discomfort, and slickly changed the subject.

"Welp, I give up, Yuffie's just too hard to buy for I guess. I don't know her that well anyway, I'll just grab her a gift card or something…" He trailed off. Cloud could tell that something was bothering him. /It's probably the way I acted just now, god I'm such an idiot/ but before Cloud could get lost in self deprecating thoughts, Zack piped up.

"Wanna go get something to eat?"

"Ah, I don't have any cash on me" Cloud responded. He'd spent all of his money on Yuffie's present.

"That's okay, I can pay for us bo-"

Cloud interuppted him "No no no no no no, that's okay you don't have to do that" Cloud really, really, /really/ didn't want to owe Zack anything, nor did he want to feel like a burden. Cloud suddenly got an idea.

"Why don't we go back to mine, I've got snacks and we can play video games if you want" Cloud exclaimed, his vigor surprising Zack.

Pulling Cloud to his feet, Zack slapped him on the back, before hollering "Hell yeah! Let's go!".

Once the two of them arrived at Cloud's house, he dragged Zack into his room, narrowly avoiding his brothers. Zack seated himself on the bed; an incredibly small single resting on a creaky wire bed frame. He eyed Cloud curiously as the blonde rifled through a packed box, pulling out an old game console from roughly about 2 generations ago and some corresponding controllers.

"Classic" Zack smirked, which caught Cloud's attention for reasons he couldn't fathom.

"Shuddup" Cloud waved Zack off and handed him the controllers as he set up the console.

The two played old games for a while before Zack asked a burning question:

"Are you happy here?" he starts, before continuing with "I know, shit's bad for you right now, but are you at least, uh,not sad?" Cloud could see he was trying his hardest to put forth comforting words, so Cloud hummed while he thought of a response.

"I'll admit; I was miserable at first, I genuinely thought all this crap was the end of the world. But now, even though it's only been a few days, I don't feel /as/ bad anymore. I still feel like shit obviously, but with friends as good as I've gotten, I feel, well, uh I mean...you're a good guy Zack, thank you for being my friend" Cloud had never been good at expressing his emotions in a coherent way, normally getting laughed at when he tried. What he wasn't expecting was Zack pulling him into a tight hug; linking his well toned arms around Cloud's slender shoulders.

"You're welcome Cloud."

The two continued to play games for a while longer, snacking on Doritos, before Zack announcing that he had to go home for dinner (Cloud would have offered him to stay for dinner but he didnt think Zack deserved that) leaving Cloud alone in his room. The moment Zack left his room, Cloud felt tears he didn't know he'd been holding back well and treacle down his pale face.

/What the hell is happening to me?/


	5. Chapter 5

Cloud woke later than he was used to; the clock reading '11:36'. He sat up in his bed, hearing his bones /crack/ and /click/ as he stepped into his slippers. He grabbed a towel and headed for the shower.

He gazed at his body in the mirror /nothing special, really/ he thought glanced at his pale, unmarred skin. Average height, not particularly muscular. Boney, if anything. He sighed as he got into the shower and cranked the heat up to high, relaxed at the feel of the scalding water beating at his skin.

Finishing his shower, Cloud wrapped a towel around his waist and got dressed into some sweatpants, letting his hair drip-dry.

He still had all day to pass, so he decided to do some homework, followed up by some video games.

By the time he noted the time, his hair was dry and the sun was setting in the sky. He ran a brush through his hair and let it fall naturally into its parting, styling it and getting to work on his clothes: ripped black shorts and a plain black turtleneck.

/time to be a crime against fashion/

A knock came at the door, and Cloud was immediately greeted by his brothers.

"You ready to go?" Roxas asked, picking up a game from next to his laptop.

Cloud grabbed the game from his hands and responded "Yeah, you better not tell your mom about this."

"Our lips" they put their fingers to their lips in unison "Are sealed" Roxas finished.

Cloud grabbed his wallet and put on his boots, and followed as the two led the way.

After Sora and Roxas left Cloud around the corner from the meeting spot (Cloud down another 10 in the process, lest he put his friends through the unnecessary annoyance of the two boys), Cloud sighed deeply and walked over to where the group was standing.

"Cloud!" Tifa called out, and he picked up the pace and ran over to them (Almost the whole group was present, save Zack and Yuffie).

When Cloud arrived, he sat down on the bench they'd all gathered around, next to Aerith.

Zack arrived shortly after, Yuffie in tow. The group began to give Yuffie her gifts (She loved all of them so it seemed, even Zack's gift card and Cloud's necklace).

Reno began clapping and yelling "Attention, it's time, yo"

"Hmmm? Oh! Yeah, your 'plan'" Aerith smiled.

He reached into his bag, pulling out a small stack of cards.

"Ta-dah!" he began handing them out.

"Guh, fake IDs? You /really/ think these'll work" Zack seemed skeptical, as did pretty much everyone except Reno and Yuffie.

The small girl crossed her arms "C'mon, let's just give them a try, it is my birthday after all."

The group made their way to the club and waited for entry. Once the security guard (amazingly) let them passed everyone patted Reno on the back.

"You're not as stupid as you look" Tifa commented, scouting out the dim, loud room for a table of some description for the group to sit at.

Reno rebutted "I don't look stupid, I look /suave/"

"I take it back, you are as stupid as you look" she shot.

They sat down at a booth in the corner, Tifa disappearing to grab some drinks.

Cloud sat next to Zack, pushed up snuggly against him due to the lack of space from the large group squeezing into a space for probably about five or so people.

Tifa returned, a full tray in hand.

"A drink for everyone, plus a shot of Vodka each." she hollered.

Aerith moved from behind her "I hope you don't mind, I guessed what drink everyone would want, based on personality" Cloud was sure Tifa went to the bar alone, but who knew, maybe Aerith had taken up Yuffie's hobby of, as the small brunette had put it, /'Ninja….Stuff'/.

Aerith's drink predictions had been surprisingly wrong, despite the fact that the girl was normally very perceptive. She'd given Zack a fruity beverage that still, to Cloud anyway, tasted like vomit. Cloud was given a glass of what looked and smelled like lemonade, but when he tried it, it tasted somewhat of ethanol.

"What is this?" he asked Tifa.

"A double peach schnapps with lemonade, no, wait, a triple. Take your time with it, okay?"

Cloud's drink was the most alcoholic of the group, so he took her advice and sipped slowly.

Cissnei, who'd been mostly quiet up until this point, piped up "So, shall we do shots?" she smiled as she slipped an arm around Reno.

Cloud was drunk.

He finished his horrible drink and was most of the way through another. He'd stayed seated so far, and was shocked when Zack asked him "Do you wanna go dance?"

Aerith, Tifa and Yuffie were already on the dancefloor, while Reno, Cissnei and some /way way/ older people who'd crowded and began chatting with the two gingers sat at the table.

"Dance?" answered a puzzled Cloud "Like, together?"

"Yeah, Spike. C'mon, lets go, I love this song" Zack dragged Cloud to his feet and over to the dancefloor. The song was, in fact 'Stupid MF' by MSI, and while Cloud typically hated their music, in the moment it seemed right. The two, tripping over their own feet, made it to the dancefloor and grabbed each other by the shoulders, not sure actually how to dance. Cloud could barely hear his own thoughts aside from /I like this/ and /I never want this moment to end/.

The song changed and switched to a heavy dance song, and Zack grabbed Cloud by the hands and swang them to the beat. Cloud laughed, he just knew how stupid he looked, but really didn't care.

"You're better at this than I thought you'd be" Zack yelled over the music.

Cloud gripped the taller boy by the wrist and pulled him a fraction of an inch closer "What's that supposed to mean?" he returned.

"Means this is more fun than I thought it'd be" Zack then dramatically twirled Cloud around, Causing Cloud to chortle, stepping back from Zack's hold. Just when Zack was seemingly moving in to take hold of Cloud once again, the two of them heard the unmistakable hollering of Tifa, who was quickly making her way towards them.

"Quick you guys need to come here" she yelled over the music. The two of them followed her, where Cissnei was holding back an incredibly inebriated Yuffie, trying to gouge the eyes out of another club-goer.

"What's going on?" Zack asked forcefully.

"I was just trying to have a good time man" the club goer slurred, wandering closer to Zack, stopping a mere 3 inches away from him.

"He groped me!" Yuffie yelled, trying to wrestle her way out of Cissnei's grasp.

Zack's face went from concerned to seriously angry in a millisecond, an expression Cloud had so far never seen zack wear upon his face.

"I didn't do fucking nothing I swear!" the man retorted, not budging from his position (which in clouds eyes, was clearly invading Zack's personal space.

"You totally did! So shut up you dickhead!" /Hoo boy, Zack's Pissed/ Cloud thought to himself.

"The fuck did you just call me?" The man squared up, Cloud noted his height, he was tall, even more so than Zack (Which considering Zack's height, was really quite frightening), he stared intimidatingly into Zack's eyes, which almost seemed to glow in that instant. The man raised his hand, as if to smack the raven haired boy's face, but before Cloud even knew what he was doing, he barged between the two of them and swung at the man, the bastard's nose cracking when Cloud's fist came into contact with it.

When Cloud came to his senses, he bolted from the dancefloor and out of the club, passed his friends and other club goers. The cool night air almost seemed to drown him as it rushed into his lungs. He sat down on a wall across from the club and held his head in his hands, his mind speeding at a thousand miles a minute.

"You okay Spike?" Cloud looked up after what seemed like years, but was more like a couple of minutes.

Zack towered above him, outstretching a hand in ofference. The blonde stood, gripping his hand and using it as leverage to pull himself up onto shaky legs.

"C'mon, I'll take you home" he said, as he began walking. Cloud followed, not letting go of the other's hand.

/


	6. Chapter 6

Cloud swayed slightly as he walked, not completely sobered up. As the two of them began to walk, Zack let go of his hand, patting him on the back as they walked shoulder to shoulder along the empty streets.

"You were cool back there" Zack broke the everlong silence, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.

Cloud swallowed "Nah, I felt like I was going to throw up. Probably for the best I bolted while I could"

Cloud shivered in the night air, wrapping his arms around his lithe frame, the barely summer chill rattling him. Zack seemed to notice this, and as a result, he shrugged out of his thick, brown leather jacket and gently placed it over Cloud's shoulders.

"What'd you do that for?" Cloud mumbled.

"You're cold" Zack stated, hooking his fingers into his belt loops as the two walked along, leaving the dense industrial district, passing a few crowded establishments as they went.

"You didn't have to-"

"Yeah, I did, now shuddup and enjoy being warm" Zack smiled.

Cloud could see his breath before him as he exhaled dramatically. Zack's face, tinted orange from the street lamps which flickered above them, seemed deep in thought at that moment. Cloud opened his mouth to ask him what he was thinking, but when he did, Zack voiced what Cloud thought must've been on his mind.

"We're friends, aren't we?" the taller boy stated, slouching over slightly.

Cloud shrugged, glancing up behind spiky bangs to lock onto Zack's eyes. "Yeah, I like to think so, why?".

Slipping his hands from their place on his belt loops into his pockets, Zack sighed exasperatedly. Cloud could feel waves of what felt like anxiety flow from the boy. Zack looked away then, eyes glued to the uneven pavement.

"...Nevermind" was all he said.

They walked silently for a few minutes more, eventually, the busy industrial streets morphed into a residential district. /ten more minutes and I'll be home/ Cloud tried to liven the conversation up once more.

"Tonight was fun, I think" He stated, body too hot in Zack's jacket.

"I think?" Zack mocked, not malicious in his intent though. He continued "I definitely had fun, despite it all, I liked when we danced" Pause "Yeah, If you wouldn't mind, can we do that again sometime?"

Zack stopped his rambling then, stopping all movement altogether and standing behind Cloud on the sidewalk.

"Hmm? Oh, that'd be fun!" Cloud replied happily.

Zack smirked. "Then, how about now?" Zack grabbed his wrists and swung them to his own rhythm, Cloud didn't know what to make of this, and looked at Zack, shocked.

The raven-haired boy tried to pull away "I'm sorry, I'll stop"

Cloud quickly perked up "No no no please continue" He blurted out.

Zack seemed amused but said nothing at Cloud's strange behaviour. Cloud didn't need to, but stated it anyway: "This is dumb"

"But you didn't want me to stop" Zack flashed a grin.

Cloud rolled his eyes and responded, "'Dumb' doesn't have to mean 'not fun or worth it'".

Zack twisted the two into an almost waltz, blindly swinging Cloud around. Cloud laughed from the depths of his belly, shuffling his feet to a beat of their own making.

"Shit." it was like the world was tumbling beneath him as he tripped over his own feet, colliding into Zack's chest, knocking them both over someone's garden wall.

"...You okay Spike?" Zack asked him after they'd both landed in someone's flowerbed.

Cloud was okay, but when he noticed his position he recoiled.

Cloud was sitting on top of Zack.

Zack seemed to notice his position then too, because he then leaned in, placing his lips onto Cloud's.

The kiss felt perfect, as if this was how things were meant to be all along. The kiss quickly went from chaste to deep, with Zack's tongue running across Cloud's lower lip, asking the invocal question, to which Cloud answered with the parting of his own lips. Zack's mouth was warm and, unsurprisingly, wet. The taste of gross beer mingled with the breath mint the blonde had crushed between his teeth after he escaped the club. His arms were firmly latched around the taller boy's neck, who rolled them so that they both laid on their sides, the mud from the flower bed grinding into Cloud's bare legs. Zack halted the kiss, running his lips down Cloud's jaw and onto the just barely exposed skin of his neck (Cloud was regretting wearing a turtleneck in that moment). He mumbled against the soft flesh of his neck "Are you okay with-" he paused to gesture between the two of them. "-this?"

Cloud immediately understood, and in that moment, maybe he wasn't as sobered up as he thought, because he responded with a breathy "Yes".

Zack grinned the widest Cloud had ever seen and promptly latched into his neck, licking it and sucking it with almost practised precision.

 _Had he done this before?_ it was barely a question, Cloud knew he'd had to've done this before, his skill and attractiveness combined was enough for him to come to this conclusion.

Cloud couldn't help but moan when Zack bit down hard on his collarbone, and Zack responded by pulling the blonde into his lap. When Cloud became seated on his lap, however, he noticed the pressure of something hard against him. That brought him back to reality, to the freezing cold night air, to the dirt grazing his bare legs. But Cloud, for some reason, did not care. He leaned in, towards Zack's supple lips, and took the initiative. His hand ghosted down his toned chest, over his flat stomach.

When he got to the other's belt buckle, he drew a deep breath, preparing himself. Just as he began to unloop the belt-

Bright lights flooded Cloud's vision, and when his eyes focused, he saw the tall outline of a familiar figure standing in the doorway.

His math teacher, clad only in a maroon bathrobe, was towering over them in the doorway of the house this flowerbed belonged to.

 _How unlucky could_ i _possibly have been? the_ flowerbed _we fell into just so happened to belong to one of our teachers..._

Before the scantily clad teacher could even utter a word, Zack had pulled Cloud up and yanked his arm, pulling him down the street and out of sight.


End file.
